A british soldier was killed in Iraq after being ordered to hand back body armour that would have saved his life, it has emerged.

Sgt Steve Roberts, from Bradford, West Yorks, was shot dead in an attack by Iraqi dissidents.

A Ministry of Defence report released yesterday has now shown he was issued with life-saving body armour, but was told to hand it back because a tank regiment did not have enough.

A reconstruction of Sgt Roberts' death was carried out. And pathologists concluded the armour would have saved his life.

The MoD report said if he had been wearing the armour the bullet that struck him in the centre of the chest and killed him "would have been defeated". Furthermore it has now been claimed Sgt Roberts, 33, and the first British fatality in Iraq, could have been killed by friendly fire.

A senior officer from his regiment wrote to Sgt Roberts' family saying another commander had fired at the Iraqi militant to help Sgt Roberts. The Iraqi was killed but "tragically Steve was also hit".

Paul Tyler MP for North Cornwall where Sgt Roberts was originally from, said that could mean it was a stray friendly bullet fired by his colleague that killed Sgt Roberts.

The Liberal Democrat MP is now demanding answers.

Sgt Roberts was serving with the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment near Al Zubayr, south west of Basra, when he was shot dead on March 24.

* Conservative leader Michael Howard today renewed his call for an independent inquiry into the Government's handling of intelligence on Iraq ahead of this year's conflict.

Mr Howard, speaking from southern Iraq where he is visiting British troops, was commenting on reports that David Kay, the American heading the coalition effort to track down weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, is on the verge of quitting over the fruitless search.

On his whirlwind tour he commended the "magnificent" job being carried out by British troops around Basra.